🏋️‍♂️ 13 best exercises for stronger shoulders

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Here’s what’s going on today:

• The most energizing foods for your workouts

• Exercises for bigger, better shoulders

• A keto protein powder round-up

Nutrition

Get Energized

A calorie is a unit of energy, and our bodies utilize the calories in our food to do all kinds of things: play chess, do calculus, collect shiny rocks, etc. 

But since you’re reading our fitness newsletter and not our forthcoming calculus newsletter, we’re here with a list of foods designed specifically to fuel your fitness routine. These food choices are the best ways to power your pre-, post-, and intra-workout periods.

Just like with comedy, timing is everything. Eating fast-acting carbs right before a workout will help ignite your body, while eating slower-acting fuel hours before will give you a base to pull from. Understanding the nature of food as fuel is an important step in your workout journey, and you can get started below.

A Message From Lumen

Understand Your Metabolism

If you’ve been dieting, lifting weights, and doing cardio without seeing the results you want, you might be missing out on one key piece of the puzzle: your metabolism. And with Lumen, you can get a better understanding of your metabolism right at your fingertips. 

Lumen is the world's first portable device that measures your metabolism with a single breath by tracking your CO₂ concentration. With the help of Lumen, you receive:

• Guidance on whether you are burning fat or carbs as fuel so you can choose your pre-workout meal accordingly

• Pointers on how to improve your nutrition, workouts, sleep, and stress management

• A personalized nutrition plan for the entire day based on your measurements so you know whether your body needs a low-carb or low-fat day.

• Complete macro breakdown that leads to improved metabolic flexibility, which is your body's efficiency in shifting between using fats and carbs

The result of all this data? More sustainable muscle growth and fat loss tailored to your individual needs and goals.

If you want to unlock the potential of your metabolism and start crushing your fitness goals, read more about Lumen here. Right now, BarBend readers will get an exclusive 15% discount on their purchase.

Exercise Tips

Head and Shoulders Above the Rest

Big shoulders never go out of style. Flexing out of a T-shirt or creating a silhouette in a tailored suit are power moves, no matter your walk of life.

To get those impressive shoulders, you need equally impressive training. That's why we've chosen the 13 best shoulder exercises for your workouts. These moves are designed to blow up all three heads of your deltoids to form immense, arm-topping boulders.

Working overhead is always a strong choice (like with a Z-press or Arnold press) while balancing out the rear delts with things like face pulls and reverse flyes. Hitting the shoulders from all angles is key to creating a three-dimensional look, so be sure to utilize these movements to perfect your routine and add some bulk to your frame. 

Supplements

Keto is Neato

Cutting out all manner of carbs as part of a ketogenic diet has been all the hotness since at least the emergence of the name Atkins in the late ‘90s.

In the modern world, multiple supplement companies cater to the keto crowd’s mission of only allowing protein and fat into their digestive tracts. These protein powders allow for carb-free supplementation while keeping important muscle-building proteins high.

Whether you’re looking for plant-based, grass-fed, or collagen, this guide to the best keto protein powders has you covered. Don’t let your diet modality of choice limit your supplement stack.

Everything Else

Begun, the Offseason Has

• The CrossFit action is far from over in 2024. Check out our full rundown of the biggest offseason events until next year's CrossFit Open. 

• Some jiu-jitsu practitioners will tell you the sport allows grapplers to use their own power against them, but strongman Martins Licis hopes his strength training regimen will give him a distinct edge on the mats.

• Often seen in internet videos but rarely glimpsed in the wild, the cable chop remains an underused and highly valued ab exercise for anyone looking to build true stability. Learn how to do it the right way.